Driver faces indictment over fatal car crash

An Oahu grand jury returned an indictment yesterday charging Jayppy Riveral with manslaughter in the death of his girlfriend in a 2006 car crash.

Joahl Mirafuentes, 19, was a passenger in a car Riveral was driving just before midnight Oct. 22, 2006, on the Moanalua Road extension. Witnesses told police the car was moving erratically and at a high rate of speed.

Police said Riveral lost control of the vehicle near a curb, causing the car to travel sideways into a grassy median culvert and flip over. The car came to rest on Moanalua Freeway.

Mirafuentes was pronounced dead at the scene from head injuries.

Riveral also suffered head injuries and was taken to the Queen's Medical Center in critical condition.

According to court records, Riveral was cited for operating a vehicle 20 mph over the speed limit on Nov. 16, 2005, and found guilty a month later.